Just as seasonal rains rejuvenate the land sparking new growth and thus benefiting local wildlife, heavy rains and flooding jumpstarts life on San Pablo Bay. Besides flushing the bay clean the additional push of freshwater acts as a huge conveyor belt and hitching on for a free ride is the ancient white sturgeon. If the storms also coincide with strong tides, like a swift kick to the rear end, it further speeds the white sturgeon’s southerly movement into San Pablo Bay.
Interestingly enough, this migration is not one big wave, but rather short pulses of transient commuters that eventually fan out across the bay. As a wonderful consequence, there can be different populations of fish spread throughout the San Pablo. That of course provides more opportunities for the boating angler.
Although its muddy face will never grace the front of a post card, the San Pablo is vital for visiting sturgeon. Serving as both a catching and feeding basin, the San Pablo’s open flats are loaded with tons of grazing fodder, and so it’s no surprise why sturgeon congregate here.
Comprised of shallow open vistas, the San Pablo has much to offer especially for the light tackle specialist. With nowhere to go but out, hooking a sturgeon in skinny water can involve long blistering runs, and despite it’s armored cumbersome look, the white sturgeon can jump with amazing agility. Indeed going to battle against a shallow water dinosaur can offer unpredictable thrills.
Season
If the new season provides another wet year sturgeon fishing on the San Pablo can begin in the late fall and extend into the late spring.
Finding The White Surgeon
Fighting a white sturgeon represents a tough challenge, but in my mind the greater test lies simply in trying to find these elusive shadows. That is no easy matter when you consider the vast size of the San Pablo. But there are several basic things you can do to put the checkmate on a white sturgeon.
Here’s What You Can Do
1. Before you head out go to your local tackle shop or web site and get up to date reports on where consistent action has been taking place. For the San Pablo an excellent on the water source would be Keith Fraser of Loch Lomond Marina. He also provides excellent live shrimp and tackle. Also of course, a call to Hi’s Tackle Box 415-221-3825 will also be a good source of information.
2. Once you have a solid report on where action has been taking place, and provided the tides are right, as you approach your potential fishing zone, slow down. Sturgeon can be skittish in shallow water, and so by gently easing in, you don’t spook anything out of the country.
3. Also by slowing down you’ll see things you may have otherwise missed. Watch for productive currents seams and edges boiling up. They can be indicated by murky or muddy edges highlighted with eelgrass and flotsam. These edges are feeding lanes for sturgeon so when you see them quietly anchor along their edge. These irregular edges are more prevalent during outgoing tides, and tend to show over hard sections of bottom such as a shell bank.
4. Slowing down also gives one time to spot for jumpers. Ironically, and although they don’t look the part sturgeon have the odd and spectacular habit of jumping, and if you see one showing off, visually mark that spot. If you continue to see more jumpers, that’s a positive indicator of a school localized in that stretch. When setting up on jumpers, slowly ease into their line of activity and quietly drop the anchor. Now it’s a waiting game.
5. Of course, there will be times when you don’t see anything topside. That’s when the depth finder comes into play. When scanning a piece of water I’ll travel in a wide zigzag tach, and generally, I’ll head into the prevailing current. If you’re over the shallow flats and less than say 15 feet the sonar cone coming off your transducer will be quite narrow. However, if you mark a fish in a relatively short time, that indicates more fish are probably traveling that lane. Sturgeon will show as a large arch on my Lowrance LCX 26 screen and some of them will suspend off the bottom as they pass by. If I continue to pick up additional marks I’ll anchor on that line of movement.
6. What do you do if you don’t see anything topside or on the depth finder. I’ll concentrate on a section of bottom that has structure. In the case of the San Pablo, its most dominant form of structure would be any shell bank. Comprised of a firm bottom mixed with crushed shell, this hard floor plan promotes the growth of marine organisms, and thus attracts foraging sturgeon.
There is a patchwork of shell banks spread throughout the San Pablo, and the white sturgeon instinctively know where they lie. By setting up on a shell bank, you basically have the fish come to you.
Shell banks can be indicated by a large amount of shell structure on your anchor, or you’ll feel your sinker ticking distinctly across the bottom. Many shell banks are not shown, so when you find one mark it down on your GPS.
Some of the better shell banks extend from China Camp to east of the Duck Blinds. Continuing east there are more extensive banks surrounding the Pump House and east of the Petaluma Channel.
Tackle
In recent years I’ve done away with the big guns and switched to lighter tackle. My favorite outfit is Penn’s one piece 7 foot Pl1220C70, which is rated for 12 to 20 lb line. I’ll pair the rod with Penn’s 975 reel. This trigger stick outfit is quick on the draw, and has the needed power to lift a heavy fish.
If you have yet to develop an educated thumb for manning a conventional, you can go the spinning route, and yes you will be tested when you battle a skinny water sturgeon with these outfits.
I’ve had tremendous fun using Penn’s 650 spinning reel and balanced with Penn’s 7-foot Pro Guide Rod Pl1220S70. This rod is rated for 12 to 20 lb line.
Line
There’s no argument the braid lines are far superior to monofilament. Their thin diameter and minimal stretch allows one to use lighter sinkers, you feel every little tick, and the moment you pull the trigger, you’re on right now. That can be critical when fishing deeper water. Also because of their thin diameter smaller reels can be loaded with large volumes of line. I would recommend spooling up with Izorline or Western Filament Spectra in 30 to 50 pound test.
Leaders
Simplicity is the byword when rigging up for sturgeon. My most effective rig is comprised of 2-1/2 feet of 60 lb test Sevenstrand plastic coated wire. I favor this pound strength for a couple of reasons. It’s strong enough to hold large fish, but at the same time because it is supple it promotes a natural presentation of the bait and thus you’ll get more pickups than rejections. The latter is more prone to happen if you use a heavier stiffer wire.
Also because of its wire composition it lays flat to the bottom even in strong tides. That means you don’t need to add sinkers to the middle of the leader.
The leader itself is rigged by forming loops at opposing ends, and then adding necessary swivels and hooks. The Loop is then secured by crimping down an A-5 sleeve. At the top end of the leader I prefer a 1/0 barrel swivel. At the business end I’ll position two hooks facing in opposite directions. Between the two hooks and acting as a spacer, a plastic bead is added. Regarding hooks I highly recommend the Owner SSW in 7/0. It’s a very strong hook, and super sharp. Additionally on its point it features a triple cutting edge, so this hook goes home the moment you strike.
To complete the setup a sliding sinker sleeve is slipped onto the braid line. Then the leader is tied on. Next your lead weight is connected to the snap on the sinker sleeve.
Lead
If I’m fishing the shallow flats exclusively on the San Pablo, 3 to 8 ounces will do. On what style sinker to use I favor the cannon ball or the pyramid. Avoid using the flat dish type of sinker. In a strong current they’ll plane up off the bottom taking your bait out of the strike zone.
Baits
As far as top baits for the San Pablo you can’t go wrong using grass, ghost and mud shrimp. To further increase your odds when possible get these baits fresh and live. If you have some doubt on what shrimp to start with, using a combination is good. For example, you can start with ghost and grass, or mud and ghost. Other baits that have proved productive include: herring, salmon roe, and lamprey eels.
Tides
Although you can take sturgeon on both sides of the tide, without a doubt the big ebb tides are the best particularly in the shallows from 5 to 15 feet of water. The strong outgoes scour the bottom exposing potential food and in so doing putting sturgeon on the prowl. But the most active feeding is triggered just as the tide begins to perk on the start of the outgo, and then toward the bottom as the current slows down.
Fishing Offensive
Lets say everything is in place, the tide is right, and you have several friends on board. The latter is a huge advantage for working big water, because it gives the boater the legal ability to fish several lines. To maximize the effectiveness fan cast the lines over a broad area.
By following this practice you’re covering different sections of water, and it provides a wider scent trail for the sturgeon to key on.
How Long Should You Sit In One Spot ?
If the sign is good such as seeing jumpers around you, or a lot of marks are showing on the depth finder, I’ll sit on the spot as long as it takes to get bit. But if I’m not seeing anything, I’ll probably work the water for about an hour or an hour half before I decide to find greener pastures.
Playing Out The Bite
Ironically, you would think that as big as a sturgeon can get they would have an aggressive bite, but in fact it is the opposite. In many cases, the initial feeding response begins with a deceiving tap, and because of that you have to hover over your rod tip like a mother hen.
Whenever you see that first tick on the rod tip, pickup the outfit. Reel up any slack, and as you do so lower the rod tip toward the water. It is critical that you do not move the leader during this process. Once light tension is applied to the rod tip, now you play out the bite.
If it happens to be a sturgeon the strike will develop into slow pronounced pumps of the rod tip. The feeding response will vary with each fish, but the go word to cement the connection takes place the moment weight begins to pull the rod tip downward. As it happens strike hard and do it with a tight drag. This prevents any line slippage off the spool, and it ensures that the hook penetrates deeply. If you do it right it will feel like you’ve snagged bottom.
Prepare For The Unexpected
The moment the hookup is made be keenly aware that sturgeon can be unpredictable in shallow water. If you feel distinct head shaking and then the line suddenly angling up, be prepared for a spectacular jump. When it happens keep the line tight. This will minimize the chance of your line wrapping around the sturgeon’s sharp diamonds.
Some fish after completing the jump will unexpectedly rush the boat. This can be very true with larger specimens. But once you get that slack never assume the game is over. Keep cranking until the line tightens up. You’ll be amazed at how quickly some fish will end up at your doormat.
During the fight keep the line in front of you and follow it wherever it goes. Should the line move dangerously close to the prop, jut the rod out over the stern to prevent the line from wrapping. If the line begins to angle up to the anchor rope be prepared to give chase, and if necessary hand the rod to your buddy so you can work the line over or under the anchor line. You may end up doing a few trips around the boat.
Work As A Team
It’s critical that you react quickly to the movements of your fish and work with your crew as a team. Other members of your group can clear extra lines out of the way when necessary, or clearing the deck so that you don’t trip at a critical moment in the battle.
Be Patient
Mistakes are made when an individual gets nervous and tries to end the battle when the fish is still too green to land. Be patient and slowly wear the fish down with your tackle. Remember there are no rocks or snags to deal with on the open flats, so if a big one decides to run, let her go.
Throwing The Towel In
Eventually, the fish will tire and that will be indicated by your ability to move it. Furthermore if the fish rolls on its side and then expends gas bubbles from its mouth, that’s a sure sign it’s throwing the towel in. Depending on the size of the fish, you can then use a net or snare.
Who Can Set You Up With The Right Tackle
If you need help in choosing tackle and rigging it properly drop by Hi’s Tackle Box in San Francisco. Jonah Li the owner and his staff are well versed in sturgeon fishing and they can set you up properly. Give them a call at: 415-221-3825
